Author: Leigh Hatts

Two days ago The Sunday Times revealed plans for a new Thames bridge in central London. Today The Times has a report about work on a possible bridge linking Kew Gardens and Syon House.

This must be resisted. The joy of walking along the towpath at Kew is that the left (‘north’) bank is little changed.

The riverbank at Syon is very special. The natural creeks of the tide meadow were known to Lady Jane Grey who embarked here and Cromwell’s prisoner Charles I who was allowed to land here by barge from Hampton Court to visit his children.

It is not a bridge that is needed but a return to the earlier levels of river traffic.

There is already an historic link between the Kew towpath and Syon. This is at Isleworth where there have been several attempts to revive the daily ferry service. This would be a much more exciting experience for visitors than a modern bridge.

The river is in danger of having too much clutter.

Pages 55 to 57.

Boris Johnson’s plan for a new bridge across the Thames in central London is bad news.

English Heritage and SE1 residents will certainly oppose it.

According to today’s Sunday Times, the Mayor of London is suggesting a bridge lined with shops linking the South Bank with the Embankment. It would be midway between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge.

The north end would have twin 35-storey towers filled with luxury flats.

It could be All Fools Day rather than the May Day weekend.

This scheme will not be popular with lawyers in The Temple. Only yesterday Judge Simon Brown was writing in The Times about the setting of its historic garden.

This plan takes no account of the much admired view of the City of London from Waterloo Bridge or the view up the wide expanse of King’s Reach from Blackfriars Bridge.

There is only one place for an Old London Bridge style bridge with shops and houses and that is London Bridge itself. But that might spoil Boris’s view from City Hall.

Radio 4’s Any Questions? comes from Cookham tonight which reminds us that the Cookham Festival starts today and runs to Bank Holiday Monday 4 May.

The Sunday service on Radio 4 is coming live from Cookham Church this weekend to mark the 50th anniversary of Stanley Spencer’s death.

Canon David Winter who is preaching at the service has been wondering where the artist was buried. He could not find anyone who remembered although the funeral was of course in the church.

The answer has been found just in time. Yes, Stanley Spencer is buried in the churchyard he depicted in his painting The Resurrection. But he was cremated so it is his ashes which lie there.

I claim (page 103) that he is buried just to the left of the Thames Path which runs through the churchyard. David Winter says that the ashes are “probably under the present memorial stone”.

The summer exhibition at the Stanley Spencer Gallery opens next Wednesday.

Today’s Good Friday edition of The Times has a report on a plaque unveiled at Teddington marking the site where the newspaper’s founder John Walter lived in retirement from 1795 until his death in 1812.

I was unaware of this important part of Teddington’s heritage. Sadly the house was pulled down in 1923.

It’s interesting that Walter set up his logographic printing presses at Printing House Square overlooking Puddle Dock at Blackfriars and went upstream in retirement.

See page 62.

One of the features of the River Thames are the church towers which downstream are aids to shipping and upstream landmarks on the Thames Path. St Sampson’s in Cricklade can be seen far away.

The Thames Path passes the Southwark Cathedral gateway and Easter Day’s  Choral Eucharist  is being broadcast from there live on BBC1 at 10am.

The Sunday morning service is always crowded. A third of the congregation is local and rest made up of regulars from across the city and visitors.

The celebrant this Sunday is the Bishop of Southwark Tom Butler whose voice is familiar on radio and the preacher is the Dean Colin Slee who always holds one’s attention.

The broadcast should allow viewers to enjoy the service but I hope the pictures will give a chance to appreciate the architecture.

The refectory in the north courtyard is also a good stop for walkers.

See page  31

Henley-on-Thames’ many unique assets include the offices of the Open Spaces Society in Bell Street. Its general secretary Kate Ashbrook has always defended the rights of way along both sides of the nearby Thames.

But Kate of course has a wider brief keeping watch on paths and commons which may be suddenly fenced off in other parts of the country.

Today she has been in post for 25 years and is now talking about her second 25 years.

Many congratulations on doing such a vital job so well at the OSS and with the Ramblers’ Associaton.

This week Kate said: “Our most important work has been our constant help and encouragement to people fighting to save their commons, greens and paths which are under threat.  It has been a joy to give this assistance and to make a real difference to communities.  It has been a joy too to work with the society’s small but committed, hardworking and loyal staff to achieve these victories.

“The society has always had to run on a shoestring, dependent upon the generosity of its members and on legacies.  Times are tight for everyone, but with us a little goes a long way.  And so I start my next quarter century by calling on people to support our vital work.”

There is some confusion I learn over the date of the 800th anniversary fair on London Bridge.

It is NOT this weekend 28 March. The date was changed when it was realised that it would clash with the G20 demonstations in the City.

The new date is Saturday 11 July. It will be a rare chance to stand on a traffic free bridge and see sheep being driven across.

More details nearer the time.

Oxfam’s Fabric 4 Life campaign, which is encouraging walkers to bring their old outdoor gear for refurbishment and resale, is being promoted by Fiona Lincoln and Mark Stephenson who are walking naked to the Outdoors Show at Birmingham.

You might see them  on the Thames Path between Tower Bridge in London and Oxford where they turn north.

They will miss Claire and Phil who are currently walking in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

They are happy to have ‘guests’ join them on the stages and for other walkers to stop and say hello.

The clothed pair can be followed on their website (http://happythames.wordpress.com) as they fill the gaps. This month they have completed Oxford to Radley.

The difficult sections between Farmoor and Cricklade come next and are probably best tackled as the days get longer and warmer.

I look forward to their comments on the Oxfordshire public transport.

How do you spot them? Look out for the yellow Mr Happy peeping out of  a ruckdack.

This afternoon I had a look at the diversion at Rotherhithe which will last until at least June.

So far Southwark Council has not put up any diversion signs.

It’s complicated because there are currently two closures caused by building work at Rotherhithe’s King’s Stairs. The first, which prevents an early return to the river at the end of the narrowed Rotherhithe Street, will be reopened by the end of this month. It is the blockage to the west at the end of the riverside arcade that is the big problem.

The best temporary route is to keep to Rotherhithe Street as far as King’s Stairs. Turn left (inland) along Elephant Lane. At a junction do not go ahead into Mayflower Street but turn right into a park. Follow the path to a second junction just before St Peter & The Guardian Angels Church. Bear right on a curving path which leads back to the river. Soon you pass The Angel pub.

This problem which has caused numerous walkers to try a dead end behind houses is now annoying residents. The situation is a good example of how closures in London are left to the local council. The national trails office does not have any responsibility for the Thames Path in the capital.

There is more chance of getting information about a sudden closure on a remote Oxfordshire towpath than in central London.

See pages page 25.

The very last stretch of towpath between Lechlade and the Round House near Inglesham has been closed for urgent repair work.

The problem is confined to where the path leaves Wiltshire for Gloucestershire but the only alternative is through the town.

The diversion is across Halfpenny Bridge and ahead up Thames Street to the High Street. Turn left to pass a handy teashop and where the houses end go left down a signposted track which runs south past Willow Tree Farm. At the end is the confluence with the River Colne and the last bridge over the navigable Thames.

The towpath is expected to reopen by Saturday 4 April just before the Easter holidays.

See pages 195 & 196.